Bucket List / Experience Goals
Hurl Tomatoes At La Tomatina
Still to do
One hour, thousands of people and more than a hundred tonnes of ripe tomatoes in the world's messiest food fight.
The adventure
Buñol is a quiet town of around 10,000 people in the hills west of Valencia, until the last Wednesday of August. By mid-morning its narrow streets are packed with people in white T-shirts and goggles. Someone is scrambling up a greasy pole to grab a ham from the top, the traditional signal for the battle to begin, while the crowd chants and gets drenched by hoses from balconies.
Then the trucks arrive, rumbling through the crush and tipping tons of overripe tomatoes into the street. A shot signals the start, and for exactly one hour it's chaos: tomatoes flying from every direction, pulp up to your ankles, everyone red from head to toe. A second shot ends it, the fire brigade hoses the streets clean, and the acidic juice leaves the cobbles shining.
Why it’s epic
- More than 100 tonnes of overripe tomatoes thrown in an hour.
- The palo jabón, a greasy pole with a ham on top, climbed before the fight begins.
- Numbers capped at around 20,000 by a ticketing system since 2013.
- An easy pairing with a few days in Valencia, home of paella and the City of Arts and Sciences.
What it is
La Tomatina is a huge tomato fight.
How to do it
Entry is ticketed; buy tickets online.
Top tip
Wear goggles.
Need to know
- Tickets must be bought in advance online, and some include transport from Valencia.
- Official rules ask you to squash tomatoes before throwing and not to tear other people's T-shirts.
- Wear goggles, old clothes and shoes that grip; flip-flops get lost or slip in the pulp.
- Buñol is about 40 kilometres from Valencia, and trains on the day are packed.
Plan this trip
- Rough cost
- £750 to £2,000 per person, including flights from the UK
- Time needed
- 1 day
- Best time to go
- Last Wednesday of August
- Fly into
- VLC airport
The ticket is modest; flights and Valencia accommodation in peak summer make up most of the cost.
Make it happen
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Why it’s on my list
La Tomatina’s origins start way back in 1945 – on the last Wednesday of August some young people spent the time in the town square to attend the Giants and Big-Heads figures parade. The boys decided to get involved, one then fell off the float. Enraged he grabbed what was available and started throwing tomatoes which caused a bit of a food fight. Naturally the police broke it up.
The following year, the boys brought their own tomatoes, but once again the police broke things up.
This was a common story until 1957 when, as a sign of protest, the tomato burial was held. It was a demonstration in which the residents carried a coffin with a huge tomato inside. The parade was accompanied by a music band which played funeral marches and it was totally successful. La Tomatina Festival was finally allowed and became an official festivity.
Ever since the numbers have been increasing the festival gained popularity until in 2013 it is estimate 40-50,000 people attended which for the small town of Buñol was too much. A ticketing system has now been introduced which limits the number of participants to just 20,000.
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